MUMBAI : Markets are likely to be cautious on Wednesday following global cues. SGX Nifty indicate a mildly positive opening of Indian benchmark indices. On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex ended at 60,284.31, up 148.53 points or 0.25%. The Nifty closed at 17,991.95 up 46 points or 0.26%.

Asian shares were on edge on Wednesday as worries about soaring power prices fuelling inflation weighed on sentiment and drove expectations the United States would taper its emergency bond buying programme, holding the dollar at a one-year high.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1% in early trading, steadying after falling over 1 percent a day earlier, in what was its worst daily performance in three weeks.

Moves were muted in most markets. Chinese blue chips were flat, Australia eeked out a 0.06% gain, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.2%.

Hong Kong's stock market was closed in the morning because of a typhoon.

Also contributing to the uneasy mood, investors are waiting for a raft of data releases due to be published Wednesday, including Chinese trade figures, US consumer price inflation data, and minutes of the US Federal Reserve's September policy meeting.

The US Federal Reserve is inching closer to starting to taper its pandemic relief massive bond purchase programme, a decision that is complicated by growing fears around the world that rising energy costs will stoke inflation while also curtailing the economic recovery.

Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has invested $29 million as a strategic lead investor in Germany-based NexWafe GmbH's (NexWafe) Series C financing round.

Zee Entertainment on Tuesday said that two representatives from the company's largest shareholder Invesco had reached out to MD and CEO Punit Goenka in February with a proposal to merge Zee with certain entities owned by a "large Indian group". However, Goenka felt that the deal with large Indian strategic group was overvalued and it would result in a loss to the stakeholders of the company.

Tata Motors said it will raise $1 billion ( Rs7,500 crore) in its passenger electric vehicle business from TPG Rise Climate at a valuation of up to $9.1 billion.

Among major companies, Infosys, MindTree and Aditya Birla Money will release thier September quarter results today.

Oil prices are currently near multi-year highs, but were steadier in Asian morning trading.

Brent crude fell 0.29% to $83.18 a barrel, just off Monday's three-year high of $84.6.

Despite growing inflation worries, there is growing optimism about the state of the economic recovery. Three US Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday said the U.S. economy has healed enough for the central bank to begin to withdraw its crisis-era support.

As a result, shares slipped on Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34%, the S&P 500 0.24%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.14%.

The likelihood tapering also meant the dollar was strong, sitting just below a one-year high versus other majors hit the previous day.

The dollar index was last at 94.413, just off just Tuesday's high of 94.563, the highest since September 2020.

It was particularly strong against the yen with one dollar buying 113.39 yen, in sight of Monday's near three year low. As Japan buys the bulk of its oil from overseas, a week yen means it is struggling even more with the high prices.

Gold was steady ahead of the data from the U.S. with the spot price up 0.04% to $1,760 an ounce, in the middle of this month's range.